Non Standard Vacuum Breaker

I have a outdoor spigot that has a vacuum breaker on it. I bought hte house 3 years ago and it was built 7 years ago. It appears the vacuum breaker on the spigot has gone bad. Water is spraying out of the middle portion of it and there seems to be no way to get in to the attachment to fix or replace the seal so I unscrewed it and took it to the local Lowes and Home Depot to look for a replacement. After searching there and a few local hardware stores it seems I have some wierd non standard spigot/vacuum breaker. The spigot side of the vacuum breaker seems to be 1" (or close to it) but the threads that screw on to the spigot are fine and close together. Not the standard pipe size threads. Of course no one seems to have these and I have no idea where to look for the replacement. I did some searching on the web and all the ones I have found online seem to have the standard pipe threads on the spigot side. So does anyone know what make/model spigot I have been cursed with? I am even willing to just get an adapter (non vacuum breaker attachment) just so I can hook my hose back up and use it. However, the non standard threads on the spigot seem to be messing that up too.

If the vacuum breaker is part of the faucet, and not just screwed on and locked in place, then the only repair for it is another vb from the same manufacturer, and possibly the same model hose faucet. Normally the best repair for your problem is to replace the entire hose faucet and vb.

It is a unscrewable attachment about 2.5 inches long. two chambers and the hose connector. It is just the end that screws on to the spigot is close to 1 inch in diameter and has a much finer thread that what seems to be the standard.

Take it off and replace it. If it's what I think it is, there is a steel set screw on the side to keep you from removing it , You can take it off with two channel locks. Use one pair to hold back with. It will scar the threads but won't make it inoperable. As I said, replace it.

Take it off and replace it. If it's what I think it is, there is a steel set screw on the side to keep you from removing it , You can take it off with two channel locks. Use one pair to hold back with. It will scar the threads but won't make it inoperable. As I said, replace it.

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I think ya missed it above where I said I unscrewed it and took it to local hardware stores with no luck finding a replacement that fit. I was hoping to find someplace I can find a replacement since none of the local places seem to sell it. There is no set screw on it, although when I was looking for replacements I did see ones on the replacements that didn't fit.
Attached is what mine looks like. The local ones seem to have a white/clear plactic washer and a third metal ring on the end that screws on to the spigot. It's the third ring that has the set screw in it. However the replacement I need it like the drawing below.

Attached Files:

No, there some sill cocks that have an integral v/b and you can unscrew the cap to get at it and there is a replacement for it. The kind your talking about should be available at hardware stores and any good plumber should have one or two on hand.

Look on the handle of your spigot. Most common of culprits would be NIBCO or Woodford. You should also find manufacturer information on the vacuum breaker itself.

If you do happen to find any manufacturer data, or can post a picture of your faucet, we can help you. If you cannot, then call a plumber close to you to diagnose your problem.

Without manufacturer info or a picture of the faucet, we cannot help. There are far too many manufacturers, each with proprietary parts. This is not the plumbers doing, but the way that world of plumbing has evolved with the advent of the big-box stores.

If you think I'm joking, try finding a suitable, one-size-fits-all flapper for a toilet. Such a thing does not exist. It used to, but not now.

As for an adapter, I hope you have no luck in finding one that allows you to circumvent the protection that the vacuum breaker provides. The device is there for you and your neighbors safety.

how true, man.........your statement about the flappers both made me laugh and cry at the same time.....my boss, who has been plumbing since he was a boy(his father threaded pipe by hand) tells me the same things, and from HIS experience, i have to agree.....the best this guy can do is to cut it off and replace it with another VB sill cock............

Attached is the best pic i took, most are badly blurred due to the close range and my hands moving the camera. The vacume breaker is off andin the wife's car. She is not here, but it looks exactly like the drawing above and is silver or nickle in color. The threads in the picture near the tape are fine machine threads, not the standard pipe thread that is on the hose end.

I found this photo on a code violation page which just showed this as an example of an approved faucet, but doesn't list a name or anything like that... was just a kind of home inspection example page. Can anyone identify the make on this, from what can see, this looks exactly like the one I have. I can not see the other end of the pipe though because it goes in to a finished basement and is behind drywall. Below is the text from that page.

The plumber has not installed an outside faucet (hose bibb) that meets the Minimum Standards of the Codes. Notice the armor-flex insulation. The hose bibb is only supported by the solder joint, a joint easily damaged from normal torque on the handle, and there is no protection from freezing. The Uniform Plumbing Code requires, "In climates where freezing temperatures occur, a listed self-draining frost proof hose bibb with an integral backflow preventer shall be used." No Exceptions! The IRC requires an accessible Stop and Waste Valve be installed inside the building - then makes an exception for Self Draining Frost Proof Fasucets. So, they are still required, but with an option to control draining from inside the heated building, which is much more expensive. Seen Here, this faucet is a simple inexpensive ($3.00) hose bibb used for washing machine hose connections. It is not frost proof, and contains no backflow prevention device. A key word in the Code requirement, is integral; meaning a part thereof. Installing screw-on vacuum breakers ex post facto, does not meet the Listing’s intent of a non-removable vacuum breaker, and provides no frost protection. The faucet must be replaced with the approved (Listed) self-draining frost proof type with an integral Vacuum Breaker for back-flow protection. Below, we see an approved (Listed) Faucet only costing $17. 00. Self-Draining frost proof faucets are equipped with an integral Vacuum Breaker which only allows water to flow in one direction. This prevents a back siphonage from a hose operated device, such as but not limited to, a lawn insecticide sprayer that could contaminate your drinking water. The vacuum breaker can be removed for cleaning or replacement; however, the vacuum breaker has a finer thread at the end connected to the faucet, thus prevents a hose from accidental connection while the vacuum breaker is removed. IRC P2903.10 Frost protection is achieved from the valve's "Stop" location at the brass seat ( far right of the faucet) where it will be embedded in the warmer stud wall behind the brick. The water will actually be cut off deep inside the structural wall framing, and drain out of the faucet. The faucet must be installed with slight fall for gravity drainage. Seen here, is the 6" copper tube model for installation in 2x4 stud wall thickness with brick veneering.

Some of those have one-way threads (not sure how they do it), so that it locks. Maybe a spring loaded coller that closes over the lip once you get it screwed on? Some have a locking screw, which should be easier to take off. Worse comes to worse, a big pipe wrench or a hack saw should get what's left of the vacuum breaker off. Slice it on opposite sides, and it should fall off, or be coerced off.

The faucet shown has two components...it is a frostproof valve with an add-on vacuum breaker. If you don't need the frostproof valve, take the vacuum breaker (or what's left of it) off and replace it with a new one. Or, take out the whole thing and replace it. If the valve works, replace the vacuum breaker.

It doesn't come off, the part you see there above the tape appears to be sodered on (or some type of really hard glue). You can see a very thin bead of it going all around the edge when you look down on it from above. That piece in the photo that the tape is on does not screw off. Looks like it should but does not.

The faucet shown has two components...it is a frostproof valve with an add-on vacuum breaker. If you don't need the frostproof valve, take the vacuum breaker (or what's left of it) off and replace it with a new one. Or, take out the whole thing and replace it. If the valve works, replace the vacuum breaker.

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The faucet works fine, and it is the vacuum breaker replacement I am looking for, but haven't been able to find it anywhere. I have found vacuum breakers at the local plumbing supply but they are all pipe threads on both ends. This seems to have some mutant 1 inch (+) machine thread on the faucet end. I'd even be willing to buy the whole thing again for the $17 it said it cost in the home inspection thing and just take the vacume breaker off the new one and attach it to the one I have currently if I could just find a place to purchase the silly thing.